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Gardeners' Notes:

Yes, slow to establish and thin and leggy compared to the eastern coneflower... But hardy and beautiful with its brilliant yellow flowers. It is a good plant to mingle with others due to its open growing habit. Mine is paired with orange butterfly weed. I had planted Mexican Hat and it didn't establish so I planted Western Coneflower instead and have a reliable clump by now. I have limed this plant with success (the rich acidic soil of PA was not ideal) and don't water it a great deal. As with other coneflowers, the seeds are attractive to birds.

Jackson, MI 49246 (zone 5). This echinacea grows so slowly that I think it is not worth the effort. I started a handful of plants indoors from seed. They survived winters in the garden. But this is their third year and they still look insiginificant. Very few flowered this summer. The overall size of the plants is not substantial. I am guessing that the plants will eventually grow larger. But I am not certain. Maybe they are just not very vigorous. My soil is very sandy, almost beach sand. My other echinacea, purple and white, are now almost mature. They seem to grow much faster than paradoxa. I think paradoxa is simply a thin leggy plant.

Bought plant last summer at Bluestone Nurseries and it had one flower and I was so disappointed. I let it dry on the stalk and then spread the seeds all over hoping for one or two plants this year. Well, this year I have at least 10 new plants and they are all blooming. They started blooming the beginning of June and look fantastic now. They are the earliest coneflower blooming in my gardens and I have about 14 varieties. I am pleasantly surprised and pleased at how well they are doing. Don't be disappointed if yours doesn't bloom the first year. I was told it wouldn't. But definitely, spread those seeds cause it works. I have very heavy clay soil and tons of snow and low temps last winter and they weren't affected at all. I'll post a picture as soon as i figure out how.

Paradoxa is one of my favorite Echinacea. I love the color and it is slightly fragrant. Butterflies like it too and I enjoy watching them visit the flowers. While it may take several years to get established, I think it's well worth the wait.

Nice bold long lasting flower. I purchased this plant as a bareroot. It seems a slow growing plant but did flower its second summer--a nice substitute for echinacea pallida which was not available at the time I was shopping.

Echinacea paradoxa blooms in June, when the spring flowers are dying down but before the summer plants get into full swing. It's a beautiful, elegant and easy plant that produces more and more flowers as it gets older.

Easy to grow, attractive blooms, very hardy and drought-tolerant. Goldfinches love the seeds. Downside: It only blooms once a year and is slow to get started. Mine did not bloom until its second year from seed, then it had only one flower the second year, three flowers its third year, and maybe six flowers last year. Finally this year when the plant is five years old it's big enough to put on a decent show.

A real prize in flower arrangements due to its limited range. Once dry it is nearly, if not completely, impossible to distinguish from pale purple coneflower. This plant is very strongly associated with limestone, either outcroppings or in the soil.